Electoral democracy in Central and Eastern European member states of the European Union: values, efficacy, incongruities and their relevance to socio-political alternatives

Abstract

This paper is based on research into levels and characteristics of electoral participation in CEE states currently belonging to the European Union. The data covers the time period from 1989 to 2013 and excludes Croatia as the youngest formal member of the community. An analysis of voter turnout records proves the pattern of formal participation decline at an accelerated rate and with graver consequences in post-communist countries which joined the democratic community in the early 1990s. The author’s paradigm in the paper upholds the initial ideals and values of democracy - which presuppose the subjectivity and participation of citizens – and differentiates between these and the practical implications of modern forms of democracy, such as liberal democracy. That leads towards a discussion which highlights the social changes which occurred over the time period in question as the main cause of the observable inefficiency of electoral democracy in modern circumstances. Last but not least the paper makes an argument for socio-political alternatives and high probability of their flourishing in Central and Eastern Europe.